Thomas Shepherd/sheet
Skills Petty Theft: Tommy was a delinquent and did the shoplifting and sneaking out thing a lot as a kid. He even learned how to boost car stereos and things. More or less these skills have fallen by the wayside now that he has powers and can blur through walls and stuff but he still remembers how to do this stuff…mostly. Streetwise: When you hang out with sketchy kids you learn how to manage that sketchy vibe. Tommy can fit in with that crowd pretty easily most places he goes and can pretty quickly find someone to tell him the score. Who you got to watch out for, who you got to respect, and where to move or find stolen stuff (and also, who has the good drugs). Though he’s strictly low-level at this point. He’s not going to be setting up any meets with the Kingpin or anything. Academics: Tommy’s not dumb, it’s just that school is sooooooo boring, and he hasn’t done a lot of it. He’s done more since coming to Xavier’s but he’s still a bit behind. However he more or less has the basic skills you’d expect from a high school student. Fighting: Not hand to hand combat, fighting. Tommy learned to fight the hard way, having bigger kids beat the shit out of him. He tried Karate for a bit (dropped out) and generally scrapped with his friends to learn how to fight. However since coming to Xavier’s he’s taken some actual combat classes from Logan and the others. In all Tommy is a mediocre hand to hand fighter who would be taken apart by a skilled fighter with comparable powers. As it stands though Tommy’s power give him the edge he needs to wipe the floor with a legion of flatscan mooks and most normal people in one on one combat regardless of training. Technology: Tommy is a 21st Century Digital Boy, he knows computers, social media, phones and tablets. He’s no hacker, but he has a handful of tricks to get into low security systems if he has hands on access and mess around. Sadly the advanced security of the Xavier’s system is well beyond him. Navigation: Yeah, sure there’s GPS and stuff like that, but you don’t want to look down at your phone and see ‘Updating…’ while you’re running at the speed of sound. Tommy has figured out how to at least guestimate where he’s going in a general sense and makes up for any misses by sheer speed. Though he has a definite knack for it. Powers and Abilities Speed Physiology: As part of Tommy's mutation, his body is adapted towards the rigors of high-speed running. His cardiovascular and respiratory systems are many times more efficient than those of a normal human being. Tommy metabolizes an estimated 95% of the caloric energy content of what he eats as opposed to the 25% normal humans do. This high metabolic rate also ensures that, although not immune to toxins, venom, and other chemicals, Tommy will burn through whatever effects the toxins have considerably quicker than a normal human. Tommy will certainly get sick, but the duration of the sickness would be much shorter than normal. His body does not generate fatigue poisons, which would normally force the body to rest. Instead, he expels waste products during his accelerated respiration through exhalation. His joints are smoother and lubricated more efficiently than normal humans. His tendons have the tensile strength of spring steel. His bones contain unknown materials significantly more durable than calcium to withstand the dynamic shocks of his feet touching the ground at supersonic speeds. His eyeballs are able to withstand high wind velocity, allowing him to see clearly without any obscuring of vision. In addition, Tommy’s practical reaction time is several times faster than normal. His brain processes information to a level commensurate with his bodily speed, enabling him to perceive his surroundings and react while traveling at high velocities. Superhuman Strength: As part of his speed physiology, Tommy has superhuman strength, particularly in his lower body. He has been known to be able to lift nearly 600 pounds with his upper body and press approximately 1000 pounds with his legs under prime conditions. Enhanced Durability: Also as part of his speed physiology, Tommy is capable of resisting tremendous impact forces that could easily crush and kill a human without suffering any serious external or internal injuries. This is essential for high speed movement, for without this durability, Tommy would suffer extreme harm from wind resistance due to running at super-sonic speeds without some sort of protection. Superhuman Speed: Tommy is capable of running faster than the speed of sound (770 miles per hour). He has enough energy, due to his speed physiology, to allow him to run at this average speed for several hours before needing to slow down. Using his speed, Tommy is to snatch arrows out of the air from a standing start as well as dodge machine gun fire. He is able to run across water as well as up the side of buildings with little to no difficulty. As part of Tommy’s speed, he is immune to the effects of friction, reduced oxygen up to a point where a human can no longer breathe, and impact upon his body while moving at super-speeds (See Enhanced Durability above). Molecular Destabilization: Tommy has demonstrated the ability to destabilize atomic matter by accelerating its molecules, in conjunction with his super speed. Tommy’s abilities in this regard have been enhanced allowing him to phase through matter with minimal effort and with some concentration cause objects to explode. At present this latter ability is only controllable at touch range but he has demonstrated, when angry, that he can blow up objects at range, though he is not able target this ability at this time. Specials Family Matters: And then some... Okay first there's Tommy's adoptive family in Jersey. His Mum is a high-strung emotional wreck who has more or less given Tommy over to the care of Xavier's Institute, and his Dad made off with the government settlement money and his whereabouts is currently unknown. Then you get the stuff he doesn't know about, namely his Dad is Simon Williams, his mother is Wanda Lensherr aka the Acolyte Scarlet Witch, and he has a secret twin brother in Xavier's Institute's crosstown rival. Go beyond that he has an uncle (who he thinks might be his father, not in a gross way, just like hey, silver hair, speed) who is also an Acolyte and of course his Grandfather is Magneto. Resources, Gear, and Paraphernalia Xavier's Institute: Tommy is a student in good standing at Xavier's Institute meaning he is entitled to room and board as well as the full ciriculum of classes and student activities. Though as he is something of a 'problem child' he hasn't been added to the student team and does not have access to the lower levels of the school except for scheduled training sessions. Speed Suit: Beast designed Tommy a special suit made durable low-friction fabric that can withstand moving at high-velocities. The suit comes with goggles with HUD capability, a secure com unit and boots that is also capable of withstanding moving at Tommy's speeds. Contraband: Tommy is the guy to see at Xavier's when you want stuff you're not supposed to have. Most of what he has handy is small stuff, smokes, candy, booze etc all of which is stored in various caches in the Salem area. Only chumps keep evidence in their rooms. Flaws and Drawbacks Poison Vulnerability: Tommy's super-speed metabolism allows him to process things faster than a normal human would. He gets sick, drunk etc very quickly but goes through the symptoms just as quickly. The same goes for other drugs. The danger being that if the substance he takes doesn't dissipate, he may die before he knows anything has even happened. Seems So Slow: When you move at supersonic speeds you need a brain that moves fast enough to keep up. The problem is the rest of world doesn't move at that speed and so they seeeeeeem soooooooooo sloooooooow. This makes Tommy pretty irratable (imagine being stuck behind the slow car in traffic for eternity) and it presents to a lot of people as a severe case of ADD, but really Tommy is just tired of waiting for the world to catch up. Intolerance: Snails and Flatscans are the bane of Tommy's existance. What's a Snail? Basically anyone without super-speed that talks slow, moves slow and thinks slow. Gawd is he tired of catering to these people. Flatscans? Non-Mutants. Tommy genuinely believes that it's going to come down to a fight between humans and mutants and he's not afraid to talk about it, though he has some qualms about actually striking first (even if he says otherwise). Still his talk is enough to put him at odds with a lot of the teachers and students who wonder if they're training/studying with a future mutant terrorist. Never Again: Tommy was locked up and experimented on because he was a mutant (also, because he blew up a building) and he's never going to be locked up or have his powers taken away again. He will react violently to the suggestion and is generally not a fan of being bound or being in enclosed spaces. Authority Issues: The authority figures in Tommy's life have been a bit of a let down or generally been out to get him: Mom (bit of a burn out), Dad (scumbag), teachers (always on his case), Mr Myers (used him), Feds (locked him up), Facility Staff (experimented on him). So he is a bit leery of anyone in a position of authority and looking for how they're trying to use him. Relationships Characters with Rels Set Joshua Foley: Josh's past beliefs and Tommy's present ones guaranteed these two would never get along. The fact that one plays the golden boy while the other plays the black sheep does not help. These two have a hard time saying anything civil to each other and actively try to show to each other up. Wanda Lensherr: She regrets every day of her life that she let him and his brother go. Didn't Father always say there is nothing more important in the world than family? By putting them up for adoption, did she do wrong? Staff Notes Category:Sheets Category:Earth-24800 Sheets